That small sign of exasperation stands in marked contrast to NASA’s official comment on the political brinkmanship in Washington. Most NASA accounts inform followers that “Due to the gov't shutdown, all public NASA activities/events are canceled or postponed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.” They also point to to this message on usa.gov: “Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available. We sincerely regret this inconvenience.”

With 97% of NASA employees ordered to stay home on Tuesday, space enthusiasts are picking up the slack. The folks at Riding With Robots initiated the hashtag #ThingsNASAMightTweet. So far, those things include a picture of Curiosity’s fresh tracks on Mars.

The Sarcastic Rover, Curiosity’s unofficial alter-ego, often pokes fun at NASA. But not today. In a series of tweets that add up to a self-described rant, the rover lamented the possible delay of NASA's MAVEN mission to study the Martian atmosphere, along with the very notion that science is "non-essential."

Sarcastic Rover encouraged supporters to show their support for NASA this way: “Instead of unfollowing @NASA accounts left unattended, it would be nice if their audience went up during he shut down...”

And just for good measure, it tweeted a picture taken Tuesday by Curiosity’s Navcam and transmitted to Earth after the shutdown began, along with this bit of commentary:

Saturn's moon Titan is one of the most bizarre places in the solar system, and now, to make things even weirder, scientists have found traces of propylene, the chemical used to make Tupperware, floating in its thick orange atmosphere.

NASA engineers have built a device that uses radar to detect heartbeats in the rubble of collapsed buildings, with technology typically used to explore other planets. The FINDER device, developed with the Department of Homeland Security, could help search-and-rescue teams find survivors trapped...

After nearly nine years in space and 4.7 billion miles traveled, NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft has met an unexpected end after mission members lost contact with it last month. Though it was unable to complete its latest assignment, the comet-hunting spacecraft led a far longer life than expected...

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — The Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS John Warner, adding a 12th Virginia-class submarine to the fleet and celebrating the legacy of its namesake, the retired senator who was hailed as a statesman.